Jump Start Your New Year's Resolution to Exercise More!

Have you been curious about those Boot Camp Fitness Classes, but have been scared off by the expensive price tags and the early start times? If yes, you have the opportunity to try a single Boot Camp Fitness Class for the low, low price of 5 canned goods. That's right. You can jump start your 2009 exercise regime and help out the North Texas Food Bank at the same time.

The program is called Exercise Kindness and the Dallas event is sponsored by Transformation Boot Camp and Brinker International (the corporation behind several restaurant chains including Chili's, Maggiano's, and On the Border).

The event begins at 9am on Saturday, January 3rd on the campus of Brinker International located at Hillcrest and LBJ. Please note you have to pre-register online before participating. For additional information and to register, visit the website below.

http://www.transformationbootcamp.com/home

Play Date Dallas Part 2

I published my first post on Play Date Dallas September 23, 2008. Check it out for details regarding the Play Date concept. My first impression of Play Date Dallas was lackluster for a number of reasons, but I suspected that Play Date Dallas had potential so I determined to give it another chance. That second chance happened yesterday at Sankofa & Bar. I was not disappointed. I had a good time last night and here's why.

1) Taboo! - Need I say more?

2) A much better venue. My first experience with Play Date Dallas took place at Boston's restaurant. Boston's is a perfectly fine casual dining restaurant but is poorly configured for a night of mixing, mingling, and game playing (see my original post on September 23, 2008). Sankofa had a much better layout that worked well for the Play Date concept. It was easy to move in between tables to check out the action and to find opportunities to join in the fun. It was also easy for groups at adjacent tables to interact with each other. At Boston's, approximately 40% of the seating was high-backed booths which limited interaction.

3) Early arrival time. Play Date events begin at 8pm and end at 2am. If you truly want to play games, mix, and mingle in a low-key setting, arrive no later than 8:30pm and stay no longer than 10:30pm. At 10pm the laid-back vibe fades and the typical "club" vibe and all its usual patrons begin to emerge.

In the end, I am absolutely recommending Play Date Dallas to all who are curious. It is not special because of its novel concept, but because it offers the best of both worlds. If you want to have a good time without the pomp and circumstance of a nightclub, show up early. And if clubbing is still your thing, show up late and all is well.

TIP: Sign up for their e-mail list to receive advance notification of Play Date events. I haven't been spammed so far, but who knows if and/or when they'll sell my e-mail address to the highest bidder.

The Living Room Auditorium?

The business model of the 20th century seemed to be,

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door."

Fast forward 100 years, and the business model of the 21st century seems to be,

"Build a just as good mousetrap, but paint it a funky color, or give it a different sound, or make it high end (or low end) and enough people will walk to your door and pay you a premium for that 'difference' that you will be able to make a profit."

This new business model hasn't been lost on the movie theatre business. There is the "megaplex" - the theatre with 15+ screens showing every mainstream movie at least 5 times/day. There is the "independent" theatre - the theatre that shows "less" mainstream films (independent theatres are too snooty to show movies; they show films). There is the dinner and a movie theatre - the theatre with a full bar, full menu, and full waitstaff. Now, a new niche has come on the scene.

In May 2008 Inwood Theatre debuted its "Living Room Auditorium" (5458 W. Lovers Lane at Inwood). Forget the stadium seating at those other theatres. At the Living Room Auditorium it's all about loveseats and oversized bean bag chairs. You and your Mr./Mrs. Right (now) can snuggle properly as you enjoy your flick - just as you would if you were at home. You are even allowed to re-arrange the furniture to suit your needs. I intend to try this new and different "theatretrap" tonight and will report back on if it's a business model that I think will last.

To see pictures of the "Living Room Auditorium" visit the website below.

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Dallas/InwoodTheatre.htm


UPDATE: There is something seductive about a dark room, plush loveseats, the freedom to get "close," and the possibility that others might see you necking (you know it's true). For this reason, the Living Room Auditorium (LRA) was a good time and it made a ridiculous movie (Pineapple Express) infinitely more bearable. However, even though I had a good time, the LRA seems to be more of a marketing gimmick than a sound business model.

Firstly, there is only one LRA inside Inwood Theatre. That means that my patronage of the LRA will be limited at best. The only movie showing Friday night was Pineapple Express. I suffered through this film only for the purpose of writing this review. Don't forget that the LRA is modeled after my actual living room. Why would I pay $10 to watch a bad movie while sitting on a sofa when I can do it at home for free?

Secondly, I assume that an auditorium filled with couches and bean bag chairs seats considerably less than a traditional auditorium further limiting revenue.

Lastly, as flat screen TVs get bigger, movies on demand become more plentiful, and TV definition gets higher, the LRA will become less and less attractive.

Having written all this, I am sure I will return to the LRA, but who knows when it will be showing a movie I actually want to see. It could be weeks. It could be months; and therein lies the LRA's problem.

TIP: Choice seats go fast so arrive early to claim your territory.

UPDATE 2: I returned to the Living Room Auditorium, newly renamed the Screening Lounge Auditorium, on September 20, 2008. It took me six weeks to return, not as long as I thought it would.

Looking For a Good Time? Maybe You Should Go Back To School.

Local colleges and universities don’t exist solely to advance their students. Colleges and universities offer a number of (low-cost) intellectual, artistic, and scientific pursuits for the general public as well. Dallas-Ft. Worth is fortunate in that it has a number of robust colleges and universities at its disposal: University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas County Community College District, and Texas Christian University (TCU) to name a few.

Here is a quick glance at some of the goings on this week alone:

SMU – February 5, Tate Lecture Series presents actor and humanitarian, Martin Sheen, star of the TV series “The West Wing”

UTD – Every Tuesday in February, The Brain: An Owner’s Guide – 2008 Lecture Series

DCCCD – Eastfield Campus – February 7, Gallery 210 Exhibit 'Beau Comeaux: Recent Images' Reception and Gallery talk

TCU – February 7, TCU Symphony Orchestra Concert

UTA – February 9, Maverick Speaker Series presents a lecture and Q&A session with actor/director, Spike Lee

For more information about these specific events or to learn about other events on your local campus, see the websites below. Look for the section on each page devoted to “Upcoming Events.”

http://www.smu.edu/

http://www.utd.edu/

http://www.dcccd.edu/About+DCCCD/News+and+Events/Events/

http://www.uta.edu/

http://www.tcu.edu/

Cheap Date Alert #7

What: The NOTcracker (modern dance performance)
When: December 8, 2007 @ 3pm
Where: Dallas Museum of Art (Atrium Cafe), 1717 N. Harwood Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Cost: FREE (but you may still have to pay museum admission $10/person; call ahead to verify)
Contact: 214.922.1200

From DallasNews.com:

No snow falls on the Barefoot Brigade's NOTcracker, and no mice invade, either. Resolutely opposed to anything remotely like The Nutcracker, these modern dance companies celebrate the season in their own style. Kimberly Bland from Chiaroscuro Dance Company, for example, performs To the Sea: Metamorphosis of an Ice Sculpture, described as the "odyssey of an ice sculpture as she melts, evaporates into the atmosphere, and rains down into the ocean." Muscle Memory Dance Theatre goes in for "abstract tutus" in Embellish. Other groups include Armstrong/Bergeron Dance Company, Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth, BecklesDancing Company, Dallas Dance Company, 3/A Modern Dance Company and Phase 2 Dance Ensemble. The performance takes place at the DMA's Atrium Cafe. – MARGARET PUTNAM / Special Contributor

Cheap Date Alert #3: Choco-Late Nights

NOTE: The men who read this blog should absolutely LOVE me at this point. I know the courtship process can get expensive; it's my pleasure to offer up some events that won't break your banks.

CAUTION: I have not attended this event and I don't see myself doing so in the near future. I don't eat a lot of sweets and when I do, I'm pretty particular about it. Thus, even at the low, low price of $10/person, I still wouldn't get my money's worth. For those of you who do enjoy the decadence of chocolate and more, keep reading.

What: Choco-Late Nights
Where: Xocolatl Room, 2817 Howell Street, Dallas, TX 75204
When: Fridays, April 13 - June 29
Time: 8pm - 10pm
Cost: $10/person

Sample a variety of desserts such as petit fours, chocolate apricot cream cake, cappuccino cake, mousse cake and chocolate cheesecake every Friday through June. From what I understand, the samples are unlimited (but don't hold me to that).

May 26, 2007 The Afternoon Set at Zen in Austin Ranch

Today’s event was the “Afternoon Set” at Zen Restaurant/Bar so named because its hours were 2pm – 6pm. Though advertisements for the event list a Dallas address (6910 Windhaven Pkwy, Dallas, Texas), Zen is actually located in Denton County. On that point, let me digress for a minute.

My vision for this blog is to explore all the nightlife options that Dallas has to offer within its city limits (literally). When I first moved back to Dallas, I couldn’t get over how far away much of the nightlife seemed to be from the city. I spent my first six months living in Desoto, a city just south of Dallas. I observed that many of the area’s nightlife options were located in Addison and/or Plano (north of Dallas). Traveling to Plano from Desoto could easily require 45 minutes driving (one way) and easily $2.50 in toll fees (one way). Granted, one could argue that $5 in tolls, another $5 in gas, and 90 minutes of drive time are a small price to pay for a good time. But why am I driving past an entire city full of nightlife to do so?

Think about that for a second. I’m bypassing hundreds of restaurants, lounges, clubs, bars, and events to get to another city offering the exact same thing albeit newer, cleaner, and generally prettier. I don’t know how this came to be. I can only surmise that somehow during my 10-year absence, Dallas dropped the ball (or lost its allure) and my peers began flocking to the new yuppie/buppie havens of Plano and Collin County. I’m not suggesting the relocation/migration is a bad thing. I’m merely making an observation.

Sorry about the digression; but I can’t promise that there won’t be more. Back to the “Afternoon Set…”

Zen is a full-service restaurant and bar and today’s event is sponsored by The Legacy Group. The restaurant has the look of a converted warehouse in that the lighting, electric, and HVAC are all exposed. The interior design is pretty dark with deep, rich reds, golds, and greens, but to its credit the bar is HUGE and one of the walls is made entirely of windows. It does a good job of letting in light and lifting the mood during the day. At night I imagine it to be a place where lights are dim, drinks are flowing, and patrons come to make new acquaintances or to catch up with old ones. NOTE: Zen is not the permanent home of the Afternoon Set. It’s simply today’s choice of venue.

I arrive ten minutes before the “set” is about to start and the place is empty except for the DJ and company. Around 2:15pm people start to trickle in. If I had to guess, I would judge the patrons to be late 20s to late 30s professionals desiring a relaxed, low-key social event. Over the course of six hours, people will be coming and going all day. Event promoters expect 200+ people to come through. The DJ is playing a nice mix of current R&B/Rap and on occasion takes the playlist back to the 90s. The music is loud enough to make you want to dance, but not so loud that you can’t hold a conversation with the person sitting next to you (as evidenced by a lengthy conversation I had with the person seated next to me). CONFESSION: it’s a patio party, but I’m posted up at the bar. The patio is huge and there is plenty of seating, but it’s hot and humid outside and it keeps threatening to rain. Still, gray clouds and all, the Afternoon Set was worth braving the elements for.

What’s good about this event is that I don’t have to try too hard. You don’t have to look “glam” as if you were going to a club and/or one of the ubiquitous establishments that describes itself as “the alternative to the club.” Blue jeans are welcome. Ladies, flat shoes/sandals are perfectly fine. And if the humidity outside dictates that today’s “do” is going to look a little less “done” then it’s not the end of the world. What most impressed me about the Afternoon Set is that it was markedly “adult” – not 18 and up, not 21 and up, and not 25 and up. It was an event for adults who stopped getting “carded” a while ago.

Final Grade: B+ The Afternoon Set was a great event and I would definitely return in the future.